Riverside Gardens Motor Inn in Warrnambool, Australia

Riverside Gardens Motor Inn
45 Verdon St, Warrnambool, Vic 3280
(03) 5562 1888

Riverside Gardens Motor Inn is located in Warrnambool, Victoria, at the end of the long drive down Australia's Great Ocean Road. We decided this would be a good place to plop our tourist trap weary bodies for the night. We took a Queen room for $85au and figured we'd gotten a good deal. Ya gets what yas pays for, folks.

Don't get me wrong. Riverside Gardens isn't all bad by any means, but it wasn't the best place I've stayed for the price either. It is clean, and the bed was quite comfortable. It looked kinda shabby and worn, but we slept well that night.

The room had an extra daybed, which doubled as a couch to watch the small wall-mounted TV from. There were extra pillows and bedding in a closet in case you have kids with you and are planning to put them on that spare bed. There was a coffee table with local tourist magazines on it in case you plan to hang around the area a bit.

Riverside Gardens has a lovely restaurant off the small lobby. Unfortunately the chef called in sick the night we were there so we had to search out the downtown area for food. The tables are quite pretty though, with nice cloths and comfortable looking seating. Ah well. Timing is everything.

There is a pool with a hot tub at the end of it on the road side of the complex. I did go check it out to see that it was clean and there were nice lounge chairs available for guests.

My problem with Riverside Gardens comes in at the bathroom. It is very tiny and it was hard for Lars to get his 6'6 self into the shower easily, though the shower head itself adjusted up plenty high enough for him once he was in. They do supply soap bars, but no shampoo at all. The soap is of the sort you find in most motels, meaning it dries your skin out terribly. I wonder if they get a kickback from the Body Shop for that…

There is a very small refrigerator in the room, and an electric water pot. They supply instant coffee and tea, along with plenty of sugar. There is no creamer, but I assume that is why they handed us a small carton of milk when we checked in. We thought it rather odd at first, but it became clear in the morning. Heh.

The walls here are very thin, and I now realize just how old I have gotten. This revelation came to me about 3:00 in the morning when I had been awakened for the 5th time by other guests at the hotel. It was a Saturday night, after all, and these were college-aged kids. They annoyed me. When in the world did I get old and grumpy? This kind of thing never used to phase me.

Speaking of check in, the gal at the desk was very nice. When we went to leave the next morning at 7:30 though, the office was not open. We had hoped to grab breakfast before hitting the tourist trail again that day, but the restaurant does not open until 8:00. Urgh. We left the key in the drop box.

I would give Riverside Gardens about 3 out of 5 stars. It is not a bad place to hang your hat for the night, but I would not make it my destination hotel for a long vacation.